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The Energy of Workplace Culture
Workplace culture is all about feelings and emotions Encyclopedia.com defines corporate culture as “the shared values, attitudes, standards, and beliefs that characterize members of an organization and define its nature. Derived from an organization’s goals,...
3 Ways Writing a Book Taught Me More Than School
3 Powerful Lessons Writing a Book Taught Me That School Never Did When I submitted my final manuscript for Permission to Be Human: The Conscious Leader’s Guide to Creating a Values-Driven Culture, it felt like I had just turned in the most important document of my...
2021: My Year of SURRENDER
2021: Embracing Surrender and Reflection on Healing, Trust, and Intuition A poem of reflection as I kick off my year of Surrender and honor the past years of Healing, Trust, and Intuition. After years of controlling, questioning and doubt, she finally chose to...
3 Ways to Spark Joy During the Pandemic Holidays
3 Powerful Ways to Spark Joy During Pandemic Holidays: Finding Connection, Love, and Silver Linings In a time when many of us are spontaneously bursting into tears, having anxiety attacks, and heavy doses of loneliness, it can feel like an extra hard blow that our...
Create Your Personal Silver Linings Playbook
Finding Silver Linings: A Practical Guide to Personal Growth During Tough Times In a time when every day in real life feels like some type of survivor reality tv show episode, it can be really hard to see the good in all of it. For most people, it's much easier to...
Wisdom Gained Through a Year of Grace
Embracing Self-Love and Wisdom: Reflections from a Year of Grace Earlier this month we celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. A few days ago, I celebrated my 36th birthday. And next week, we will celebrate 5 years in business. September is always filled with such...
6 Months of Upside Down to Right Side Up
Transforming Challenges into Triumphs: My Journey from Overwhelmed to Empowered It's been a bit since you've heard from me. And, likely like you, it's because I've been feeling my way through the last 6 months, resetting, re-prioritizing, and realigning. From...
Work Life Boundaries…Get Them Back!
How to Regain Work-Life Balance: Reestablish Boundaries in the Remote Work Era When we were first hit with the news that we'd all be working remotely, there was an initial rise in hope around how much glorious time would be recouped from no longer sitting in traffic...
How do you reply to a sad message?
10 Effective Ways to Respond to Others' Sadness: A Guide to Empathy and Understanding Nowadays, it's really normal to hear people speak about their sadness. It may be in the form of a complaint or frustration, but that underlying emotion is pure, raw sadness. As a...
Recognizing Privilege & Giving Back
How to Recognize Privilege and Give Back: Practical Steps for Making a Positive Impact During Times of Crisis When everything I know to be "normal" all of a sudden goes away, I find myself falling into a deep place of reflection. Asking myself questions like... What...
How to Work from Home + Strengthen Your Relationship
How to Successfully Work from Home and Strengthen Your Relationship: Tips for Couples "The only constant in life is change." -Heraclitus. Boy, are we going through some big change! At times, it can seem like each hour presents a new reality. And for many, that reality...
Meet our May 2nd Life Lens Co-Hosts: Mali & Abdul
Learn more about our Life Lens co-hosts Why are you co-hosting this event? Mali: It's one of the best events I've attended that continually gives back to you, in a meaningful way. I firmly believe that every human needs space for reflection and connection, so I'm...
Toltec Wisdom Gained from don Miguel Ruiz
Transform Your Life: Wisdom from don Miguel Ruiz and Toltec Traditions Over the holiday and into the new year, I had the humbling experience of traveling to Teotihuacán, Mexico, with Don Miguel Ruiz and his sons, Miguel Jr. and Jose to gain Toltec Wisdom. As a...
Wisdom Gained from a Year of TRUST
Embracing TRUST: Lessons and Transformations from a Year of Self-Discovery My “word” for 2019 was TRUST. Instead of making a typical New Year’s Resolution, a dear friend inspired me to choose a word that would serve as a compass and guardrails for what I wanted to...
Meet our Jan 18th Life Lens Co-Hosts: Annie & Cory
Discover Your Authentic Self: Join Annie & Cory for the Life Lens Workshop on Jan 18th Why are you co-hosting this event? Annie: I attended this program for the first time a little over a year ago and I am completely serious when I say that I've thought about that...
Lessons from Kids
Discovering Inner Peace: Lessons Learned from Kids at the Bouldering Gym One of the things I love the most about bouldering (a form of rock climbing) is that it serves as a meditation practice for me while also allowing me to move my body and use my flexibility,...
Wedding Values: An Officiant’s Lens on Marriage
The Role of Wedding Values: Insights from an Experienced Officiant I have had the incredible joy and honor of marrying many couples and witnessing their wedding values. A dream came true when a friend and former leadership volunteer from a young professional program I...
Our Sisterhood Edition Life Lens Co-Hosts: Lindsey & Chenire
Discover Your True Self: Join Lindsey & Chenire's Life Lens Sisterhood Edition What brought you to Life Lens in the first place? Lindsey: I have been fortunate enough to work for MaryBeth at SparkVision, so I have seen Life Lens in action as a participant and as...
How to Live an Abundant Life: A Manifesto
35 Timeless Pieces of Wisdom for Living an Abundant and Fulfilling Life Leading up to my 35th Birthday, I activated my value of "reflection" to go into the depths of gratitude I have for the abundant, aligned and beautiful life I have the privilege of designing each...
Meet our October 6th Life Lens Co-Hosts: Helene & Yanky
Discover Your Authentic Self: Join Helene & Yanky at the October 6th Life Lens Workshop Why are you co-hosting the event? Helene: I want to be a part of creating the opportunity for everyone to examine their individual values, motivations, what drives them in...
Meet our August 17th Life Lens Co-Hosts: Austin & Chenire
Discover Your Authentic Self: Join Life Lens Workshop on August 17th with Austin & Chenire What brought you to Life Lens in the first place? Austin: I was lucky enough to experience Life Lens as part of a retreat during my Baltimore Corps fellowship. It was such...
A Summer Bucket List that will make you a better human
Summer brings out the feelings of our youth. School is out, we're more carefree and often days are spent with our feet in the sand and exploring warm nights under the stars. We gather around family reunions, BBQs and beaches feeling "it's time" to reconnect with what...
Hey Mom, What’s my Birth Story?
Discovering Your Birth Story: Unveil How Your Birth Experience Shapes Your Approach to Life's Challenges Listening to Oprah's "Masterclass" with Jeff Bridges (starts at 15:07). I learned of a concept that made fireworks go off in my mind. It was about "rebirthing." ...
5 Ways to Discover Your Authentic Self
Discover Your Authentic Self: 5 Powerful Ways to Reclaim Your True Identity Authenticity is an odd thing to think about, right? You imagine things like …. Do I know who I am? Do I know the authentic being that lives inside of my body? And how do you even answer that...
12 Questions You Can Ask To Spark Connection
12 Essential Questions to Spark Connections During Informational Interviews and Networking Events Kyle Elliott, MPA, CHES runs CaffeinatedKyle.com. His goal is simple – to help people find jobs they LOVE (or at least tolerate). This help takes many forms, from Career...
How to Treat Yourself Better: A 6-Step Guide
How to Nurture Your Inner Child: A Guide to Overcoming Negative Self-Talk and Embracing Self-Love Around the age of 4, our mind begins to form its ego. The ego is the little voice in our head that takes away the joy in the present moment. It whispers and sometimes...
8 Breakdowns that Lead to Breakthroughs in 2018
Transforming Hardships into Growth: 8 Personal Breakdowns that Led to Breakthroughs in 2018 I've found that most of us (myself included) share the highlight reel during our reflection of the past year. The new year is an appropriate moment for a humble brag and...
10 Little Things You Can Do Today to Boost Your Career
10 Simple Steps to Boost Your Career Today: Expert Tips from Kyle Elliott Kyle Elliott, MPA, CHES runs CaffeinatedKyle.com. His goal is simple – to help people find jobs they LOVE (or at least tolerate). This help takes many forms, from Career and Life Coaching to...
No One is a Little Person
Why Everyone Matters: Breaking Down Hierarchies in Professional Organizations Kevin Frick is the Vice Dean for Education at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. He has been an avid runner for the past 11 years - participating in 9 marathons (including Boston in...
Wisdom Gained from a Week with Shamans
Transformative Wisdom: 10 Life-Changing Lessons from a Week with World-Renowned Shamans in Costa Rica Last week my soul fully merged with my body. Intense, maybe even crazy, statement to make, right? Well, it was intense + crazy to process! I was in Costa Rica with...
Leadership Lessons from the Other Side of the World
Transformative Leadership Lessons from Volunteering in Rural Chile: Sue Elias’s Journey Sue Elias is EVP of Parks & People Foundation in Baltimore, MD and has 25 years working in the nonprofit sector as a leader, executive, and volunteer. Reflecting on the...
Questions for Thanksgiving to Ignite Gratitude
Transform Your Thanksgiving: Meaningful Questions to Spark Gratitude and Deepen Connections Here we go again! It's officially holiday season and whether you love or dislike them, you're likely headed towards some combination family over the next month or two. And as...
Life Lessons Learned Spending 3 Months in a Honda
Life-Changing Lessons from a 15,000-Mile Journey in a Honda: Embracing Adventure, Family, and Discovery Taylor Shanklin is the VP of Product Marketing and Strategy at Pursuant. With over a decade spent in the nonprofit technology sector, her passion and purpose...
Why Do People Ghost + What You Can Do About It
Understanding Ghosting: Reasons Behind It and Effective Ways to Cope By definition, “Ghosting” is breaking off a relationship by ceasing all communication and contact with the former partner without any apparent warning or justification, as well as ignoring the former...
Navigating Racial Battle Fatigue
Navigating Racial Battle Fatigue: Practical Strategies for Emotional and Psychological Resilience in a Multicultural World Cory J. Anderson writes about practical ways to think about and implement equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace. He has always...
The Great Divide: When our Work + Values are Out of Alignment
Align Your Work with Your Values: Discover the Path to Authentic Fulfillment Ever meet someone who is far from practicing what they preach at work? Like an HR professional who hates people, a Financial Planner who is in massive debt, a Communications Director who...
The Art of Evolving As A Modern Family: Part 3
Evolving as a Modern Family: Embracing Non-Traditional Roles and Breaking Societal Norms Taylor Shanklin is the VP of Product Marketing and Strategy at Pursuant. With over a decade spent in the nonprofit technology sector, her passion and purpose is to help...
It’s Not About Me
Embracing Servant Leadership: It's Not About Me - Insights from Sue Elias Sue Elias is EVP of Parks & People Foundation in Baltimore, MD and has 25 years working in the nonprofit sector as a leader, executive, and volunteer. Reflecting on the experiences and...
Emotional Reciprocity: How to Balance Your Relationships
Discovering the Power of Emotional Reciprocity: Building Balanced and Fulfilling Relationships 'Emotional reciprocity’ exists when you provide empathetic support to someone and, when you’re in need, that person meets you at an equal level to provide you with...
Why You Need a Personal Board of Directors
How to Build a Personal Board of Directors for Career Success You don’t need to own the next cool startup to invest in a Personal Board of Directors (BOD). After drinking lattes, investing time into developing in my personal BOD has been one of the best decisions I...
How to Create a Life By Design and Not By Default
How to Live a Life of Your Own: A Guide to Creating a Life by Design Every self-help guru extraordinaire urges their audience to do things like, "Make small changes and change your life. With just a few habit tweaks, the life of your dreams can be at your...
3 Steps to Take When Dealing with Changes and Challenges
Harnessing Regular Social Rituals for Resilience: How Consistent Practices Can Help You Navigate Life's Challenges Kevin Frick is the Vice Dean for Education at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. He has been an avid runner for the past 11 years - participating...
3 Things to Know About the Millennial Entrepreneur
Unlocking the Potential of the Millennial Entrepreneur: Traits, Challenges, and Opportunities Kelly Marciniw, CPHR, geMBA writes on entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship from both the employees' and employers' perspective. As the Founder and CEO of BrightGo Solutions...
My Quest to Become a Cowgirl: Part 2
My Transformative Journey: From Baltimore to Idaho on My Quest to Become a Cow Girl It’s been 8 months since my last nature fix. And after a traumatizing experience on our trip to Nicaragua, my husband and I were long overdue to feel some relief from the day-to-day....
Personal Development Retreat: Why go?
The Ultimate Guide to Retreats: Reflection, Connection, and Growth Humans get so captivated by the chaos and busyness of daily living that we forget to check in with our deeper selves. We retreat to things like TV and booze more quickly than we take a walk and ponder...
Out of Office Message: What if it said your truth?
How to Create an Authentic Out of Office Message that Connects and Inspires An out of office message usually goes something like this: “Sorry, I missed you. I’m out of the office until DAY OF WEEK, DATE, with limited access to email. If you require immediate...
Just Laid Off?
How I Turned Job Loss into Opportunity: The ONE Action That Landed My Dream Job in Just 5 Weeks September 13, 2017. An ordinary Wednesday for most, but for me, it’s a date I will always remember. I was sitting in a small conference room while most of my team members...
Is Your Organization Inclusive?
Creating Intentional Inclusive Environments: A Multicultural Church’s Journey to Diverse Representation Creating diverse and inclusive environments is an intentional act. One of the places I see this put in to practice is my church. I know, this is likely not what you...
Entrepreneur Tip: 2 Things You Can Take With You
How Your Reputation and Network Can Make or Break Your Success as an Entrepreneur There are two things you have the power to take with you no matter where you go in life. Depending on if they serve or slight you, you can try to shake them or you can nurture them. When...
The Art of Evolving as a Modern Family: Part 2
Earlier in the year, I embarked upon a journey to write about and share some lessons that my family has unpacked as we evolve as a modern family. If you missed that, check it out here. Our evolution as a modern family has made us ever-mindful of what is important to...
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Our Weekly Newsletter Create Your Values-Driven Life
Create Your Values Driven Life, features unique ideas, common-sense reminders + inspiration to help you know and live your values.















































